Learn About Geary County Heritage in These Intriguing and Amusing Articles From our Museum Staff

Saturday, December 19, 2015

A Brief History of the Christmas Tree

We
are less than a week away from Christmas and for most of us, the Christmas
spirit is high. Putting up the family Christmas tree usually marks the
beginning and for many, the peak of the Christmas festivities. The Christmas
tree has not always existed in the form we know it today. Two weeks ago, we took a look at the history
of Santa Claus, and just like the myth of Santa Claus, the modern Christmas
tree has been influenced by many traditions and combined with many cultures,
specifically from the Germans. This week we are going to take to take a briefly
look into the history and evolution of the modern Christmas tree.

The exact start of the use of an evergreen tree
is not known. One of the first cultures to use evergreen trees during winter
celebrations were the Romans. In the Roman tradition of the Winter solstice,
Roman citizens would decorate their homes with evergreen braches during this
time of the year because it meant that at last the sun god would
begin to get well. Evergreen branches reminded them of all the green plants
that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return.

Early Christian celebrations with a tree were
forbidden as many in the clergy had seen the use of a Christmas tree would take
attention away from Jesus and his birth. However, this quickly changed as Christians
during the Middle Ages began to accept a tree for Christmas celebrations. A legend had grown that said “…when Christ
was born in the dead of winter, every tree throughout the world miraculously
shook off its ice and snow and produced new shoots of green.” This is used as
an explanation as to why trees were used for Christmas by Christians.

It was not until the renaissance, however, that
there are clear records of trees being used as a symbol of Christmas. Some of
the earliest records start in Latvia in 1510 and Strasburg (Germany) in 1521.
These early trees were not known as “Christmas trees” but “Paradise Trees.”
These trees were in referenced to the “Tree of Life” and the Garden of Eden
which were added to the German Mystery or Miracle plays celebrated the feast
day for Adam and Eve and many Christians on December 24th. The
clergy would then decorate fir trees with fruits for the play. This tradition
followed many people home and many Christians started to decorate their own
trees.

This custom really did not take a hold in the
United States until the 18th and 19th century when there
was an influx of German immigrants into the United States. The idea of gift giving
under the tree was brought over by German immigrants. Before the influx of
German immigrants, many 19th century Americans saw the Christmas
tree as a novelty idea. The first mention of the Christmas tree in American
literature was in a story in the 1836 edition ofThe Token and Atlantic Souvenir, titled "New Year's Day," by Catherine Maria
Sedgwick, where she tells the story of a German maid decorating her mistress's
tree.

The
same poem that brought us a modern version of Santa Claus, Clement Moore’s 1882
A Visit from Saint Nicholas, which
waslater retitled The Night before Christmas, also helped
popularize the image of the family opening up presents under the tree on
Christmas morning. During the Victorian era, candles were added to the tree to
help represent the stars of the night winter sky. Before that period, it is widely
believed that Martin Luther, the famous protestant reformer was the first to
add lights to the Christmas tree. These candles are the predecessor the lights
we use today (the electrical lights are less of a fire hazard, which came about
in 1895 by an American telephonist, Ralph Morris.) The addition of lights
coincided with the arrival of German ornaments which made their way from across
the ocean to American trees.

Bringing the history of the Christmas tree closer to home, pioneer families in
Kansas knew a very different Christmas than we know it today. From an undated
early Union article, the author tells us, “Only a generation ago the pioneers
in Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa only knew a Christmas spruce, balsam or pine tree
as a wonderful object. So rare it was.” The article goes on to explain that the
willow trees for many along the banks of Prairie rivers were used as early Christmas
trees. These accounts were recorded in the Daily Union from around the turn of
the century. As more and more people started to come to the Kansas, Christmas
trees became more readily available, as they were being brought from the east
coast and used by the pioneers and their families.

The Christmas tree gained popularity
over the next hundred years and has become one of the staple traditions during
the holiday season.

The picture accompanied is one of
the earliest renditions of an American Christmas tree which was explained in Catherine Maria Sedgwick’s short
story, “New Year's Day." Credit
to American antiquarian.org for the picture.

Geary County Museums

The Museum is open Tuesday-Sunday 1-4 and is closed for holidays.There are three floors of exhibits, both permanent and rotating. We have a wonderful gift shop where you can buy trinkets for yourself or others. The Museum building is available for rent, email for more information. We have three Satellite sites available upon request.